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Ban on Slaughter of Horses Approved

September 7, 2006

Riding a broad wave of bipartisan support, the House on Thursday approved a bill to ban the slaughter of horses in the United States for human consumption.

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, which still awaits approval by the Senate, passed on a 263-146 vote, setting the stage for the possible elimination of an industry that Rep. Edward Whitfield (R-Ky.) called "a grossly inhumane business."

"This whole slaughtering process is an illicit, concealed, inhumane process as it relates to horses," said Whitfield, one of the bill's co-sponsors and its most vocal champion on the House floor.

The three horse slaughterhouses in the United States--one in DeKalb, Ill., and two in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area--are foreign-owned and export most of their meat to Europe and Japan. About 90,000 horses were slaughtered in the United States last year.

In a culture where the consumption of horsemeat is generally considered taboo, Americans by and large support measures to ban the slaughter of horses for food. For many Americans, horses are iconic, representing cowboys and the Wild West, and this sentimentality has helped keep horsemeat off Americans' dinner tables.

The bill became an emotional flash point for activists on both sides. Supporters of the legislation called for an end to what they consider the cruel practice of horse slaughtering and opponents said that closing the nation's abattoirs would subject thousands of unwanted horses to uncertain futures with little care available for them.

Former Texas Rep. Charles Stenholm, representing more than 200 organizations opposed to the bill, many of them agricultural groups, said the legislation would merely close the slaughterhouses without giving consideration to the collective fate of the unwanted horses who would have otherwise been slaughtered.

"What are you going to do with 90,000 unwanted horses? Who's going to provide for their care?" asked Stenholm, who was the top-ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee until 2004. "It's not in the best interest of the horses. There is nothing in the bill that provides for the humane treatments of horses."

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns echoed those concerns Wednesday in a letter to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.). In the letter Johanns said passage would likely lead to "a reduction in the humane treatment of horses."

Goodlatte's committee voted 37-3 against the bill and said much of the bill's support was for the wrong reasons.

"There's no doubt in anyone's mind that this is an emotionally charged issue," he said. "But passion, when left unchecked, can have negative consequences. That's exactly the situation we find ourselves in today. The consequences of this legislation are far-reaching and stand to jeopardize the welfare of America's horse population."

The bill's supporters say unwanted horses could be redirected to horse rescue facilities, but Goodlatte and others have said an influx of horses--possibly as many as the 90,000 now slaughtered annually--would likely overburden existing facilities, which now can accommodate only about 6,000 horses.

But the movement to ban horse slaughtering has seen a groundswell of support as Whitfield and another of the bill's sponsors, Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.), corralled more than 200 other House members as co-sponsors. And outside Washington, a contingent of celebrities, including actress Bo Derek and country singer Willie Nelson, have rallied to press for the slaughter ban.
Those who support the ban maintain that since horses are raised for sport, recreation and companionship and not for eating, they should not be killed and processed for food.

Chris Heyde, deputy legislative director and a lobbyist for the Society for Animal Protective Legislation, said that despite Department of Agriculture oversight, horse slaughtering is an inherently inhumane process and current measures cannot protect the animals.

"We're looking at an industry that, beginning to end, is extremely cruel," Heyde said.

The legislative push to ban horse slaughtering has been in the works for several years. But even Thursday, numerous lawmakers, including some supporters of the ban, openly criticized the House leaders' decision to bring up the bill this week while other controversial issues, such as immigration reform, have not been scheduled for votes.

Though consumption of horsemeat in the United States is uncommon, the sweet and tender meat is used for culinary purposes in other countries, including Sweden, where a smoked horsemeat sausage called gustavskorv is popular, and in Japan, where it is sometimes served in raw slices. In the United States, horsemeat is sometimes used as feed for zoo animals.
-----From Richard Clough of the Washington Bureau, Washington Post